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Hermes
Hermes ( /ˈhɜrmiːz/; Greek : Ἑρμῆς) An Olympian god in Greek religion and mythology, Hermes was the son of Zeus and the Pleiade, Maia, a daughter of the Titan, Atlas. The second youngest of the Olympian gods, he was born before Dionysus.His symbols include the rooster and the tortoise, his purse or pouch, winged sandals, winged cap, and held in his left hand, the herald's staff, the Greek kerykeion or Latin caduceus.1Hermes was the herald, or messenger, of the gods to humans, sharing this role with Iris. A patron of boundaries and the travelers who cross them, he was the protector of shepherds and cowherds, thieves,2 orators and wit, literature and poets, athletics and sports, weights and measures, invention, and of commerce in general.3In the Roman adaptation of the Greek pantheon (see interpretatio romana), Hermes was identified with the Roman god Mercury, who, though inherited from the Etruscans, developed many similar characteristics, such as being the patron of commerce.needed Etymology The earliest form of the name Hermes is the Mycenaean Greek e-ma-a2 , written in Linear B syllabic script.4 Most scholars derive "Hermes" from Greek herma 5 (a stone, roadside shrine or boundary marker), dedicated to Hermes as a god of travelers and boundaries; the etymology of herma itself is unknown. "Hermes" may be related to Greek hermeneus ("the interpreter"), reflecting Hermes' function as divine messenger.678 Plato offers a Socratic folk-etymology for Hermes' name, deriving it from the divine messenger's reliance on eirein (the power of speech).8 Scholarly speculation that "Hermes" derives from a more primitive form meaning "one cairn" is disputed.7 The word "hermeneutics", the study and theory of interpretation, is derived from hermeneus. In Greek a lucky find was a hermaion. Cult and mythology The origin of Hermes as a deity is uncertain.needed Some consider him a native god that was worshiped since the Neolithic era,needed while others suggests that he was an Asian import, perhaps via Cyprus or Cilicia well before the beginning of written records in Greece.needed What is certain is that his cult was established in Greece in remote regions, likely making him a god of nature, farmers and shepherds. It is also possible that since the beginning he has been a deity with shamanic attributes linked to divination, reconciliation, magic, sacrifices, and initiation and contact with other planes of existence, a role of mediator between the worlds of the visible and invisible.9Among the functions most commonly linked to him in Greek literature are messenger of the gods, and god of language, speech, metaphors, prudence and circumspection, as well as intrigues and covert reasons, fraud and perjury, wit and ambiguity. Thus he was a patron of speakers, heralds, ambassadors and diplomats, messengers and thieves. He was believed to have invented fire, the lyre, the syrinx, the alphabet, numbers, astronomy, a special form of music, the fighting arts and the gym, the cultivation of olive trees, weights and measures, and various other things.Due to his constant mobility, he was considered the god of commerce and social intercourse, the wealth brought in business, especially sudden or unexpected enrichment, travel, roads and crossroads, borders and boundary conditions or transient, the changes from the threshold, agreements and contracts, friendship, hospitality, sexual intercourse, games, data, the draw, good luck, the sacrifices and the sacrificial animals, flocks and shepherds and the fertility of land and cattle. In addition to serving as messenger to Zeus, Hermes carried the souls of the dead to Hades, and directed the dreams sent by Zeus to mortals.101112The Homeric hymn to Hermes invokes him as the one "of many shifts (polytropos), blandly cunning, a robber, a cattle driver, a bringer of dreams, a watcher by night, a thief at the gates, one who was soon to show forth wonderful deeds among the deathless gods."13As the god of roads he protected travelers that sacrificed to him or crossed his path, and punished those who refused to aid those that lost their way; numerous statues of him were erected on roads, doors and gates.14 Hermes also served as a psychopomp, or an escort for the dead to help them find their way to the Underworld, and in this capacity was the only god besides Hades, Persephone, Hecate, and Thanatos who could enter and leave the Underworld without hindrance.neededHermes, as an inventor of fire,15 is a parallel of the Titan, Prometheus. In addition to the lyre, Hermes was believed to have invented many types of racing and the sports of wrestling and boxing, and therefore was a patron of athletes.16According to prominent folklorist Yeleazar Meletinsky, Hermes is a deified trickster.17 Early Greek sources The first descriptions of the myth of Hermes date from the Archaic period of Ancient Greece. One of the most important myths appears in the Homeric Hymn to Hermes, dating to the seventh or sixth centuries BC and deals with his birth and early exploits. The hymn opens with a salutation to the god, calling him the lord of Mount Kyllini and Arcadia, the flocks of sheep, and messenger of the gods. It also names him as the son of Zeus, the result of his adulterous love with Maia, a nymph daughter of Atlas and Pleione.Living in a cave, hidden from human eyes and particularly the notoriously stormy and jealous Hera, Zeus' wife and sister, Maia gave birth to "this ingenious child, this clever deception planner, tracker and capturer of cattle, a shepherd of dreams, this citizen of the night lurking in doorways." The infant Hermes was precocious. His first day he invented the lyre. By nightfall, he had rustled the immortal cattle of Apollo. For the first sacrifice, the taboos surrounding the sacred kine of Apollo had to be transgressed, and the trickster god of boundaries was the one to do it. Hermes drove the cattle back to Greece and hid them, walking them backwards so that their tracks seemed to be going in the wrong direction.When Apollo accused Hermes, Maia said that it could not be him because he was with her the whole night. However, Zeus entered the argument and said that Hermes did steal the cattle and they should be returned. While arguing with Apollo, Hermes began to play his lyre. The instrument enchanted Apollo and he agreed to let Hermes keep the cattle in exchange for the lyre. In return, Hermes asked for Apollo's shepherd's crook to make it a fair trade.neededHomer and Hesiod portrayed Hermes as the author of skilled or deceptive acts, and also as a benefactor of mortals. In the Iliad he was called "the bringer of good luck," "guide and guardian" and "excellent in all the tricks." He was a divine ally of the Greeks against the Trojans. However, he did protect Priam when he went to the Greek camp to retrieve the body of his son Hector. When Priam got it, Hermes took them back to Troy.18He also rescued Ares from a brazen vessel where he had been imprisoned by Otus and Ephialtes. In the Odyssey he helped his great-grand son, the protagonist, Odysseus, informing him about the fate of his companions, who were turned into animals by the power of Circe, and instructed him to protect himself by chewing a magic herb; he also told Calipso Zeus' order for her to free the same hero from her island to continue his journey back home. When Odysseus killed the suitors of his wife, Hermes lead their souls to Hades.19 In The Works and Days, when Zeus ordered Hephaestus to create Pandora to disgrace humanity by punishing the act of Prometheus giving fire to man, every god gave her a gift, and Hermes’ gift was lies and seductive words, and a dubious character. Then he was instructed to take her as wife to Epimetheus.20Many other myths feature Hermes. Aeschylus wrote that Hermes helped Orestes kill Clytemnestra under a false identity and other stratagems,2 and also said that he was the god of searches, and those who seek things lost or stolen.21 Sophocles wrote that Odysseus invoked him when he needed to convince Philoctetes to join the Trojan War on the side of the Greeks, and Euripides did appear to help in spy Dolon Greek navy.2Aesop, who allegedly received his literary talents from Hermes, featured him in several of his fables, as ruler of the gate of prophetic dreams, as the god of athletes, of edible roots, and of hospitality. He also said that Hermes had assigned each person his share of intelligence.22 Pindar and Aristophanes also document his recent association with the gym, which did not exist at the time of Homer.23 Hellenistic Greek sources Several writers of the Hellenistic period expanded the list of Hermes’ achievements. Callimachus said he disguised himself as a cyclops to scare the Oceanides and was disobedient to his mother.24 One of the Orphic Hymns Khthonios is dedicated to Hermes, indicating that he was also a god of the underworld. Aeschylus had called him by this epithet several times.25 Another is the Orphic Hymn to Hermes, where his association with the athletic games held in tone is mystic.26Phlegon of Tralles said he was invoked to ward off ghosts,27 and Pseudo-Apollodorus reported several events involving Hermes. He participated in the Gigantomachy in defense of Olympus; was given the task of bringing baby Dionysus to be cared for by Ino and Athamas and later by nymphs of Asia, followed Hera, Athena and Aphrodite in a beauty contest; favored the young Hercules by giving him a sword when he finished his education and lent his sandals to Perseus.28 The Thracian princes identified him with their god Zalmoxis, considering his ancestor.29Throughout the Hellenistic period, Hermes acquired a particularly important status as an image of Logos and interpreter of the divine will, and went from being a mere expressive character to acting creatively, taking on roles of demiurge, a change which is mainly attributed to the Stoics, Gnostics and Neoplatonists. Apparently, this time began the merger of Hermes with the Egyptian god Thoth, who flourished as the figure of Hermes Trismegistus.needed In the series Hermes was called by God that Satan is going to destroy Heaven. Hermes was battling the devils and when they got out of Hell God told his friends no sign of Satan's son Grindour. Category:God Of Chaos Category:Heroes Category:Gods Category:Characters Category:Season One